John c



No. 612,383. Patented out. n, |898.

.1'. c. DEAN. COOLING DEVICE FUR STEAM ENGINE CONDENSERS.

(Application led Sept. 27, 189%) (No Model.)

li) l UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. DEAN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE DEAN BROTHERSSTEAM PUMP WORKS, OF SAME PLACE.

COOLING DEVlcE FoR STEAM-ENGINE coNDENsERs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 612,383, dated October11, 1898.

Application flied September 27,1897. Serial No. 653,201. (No muriel.;

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN C. DEAN, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, andState of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Cooling Devicefor Steam-Engine Oondensers; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanyiug drawings, in which like iigures refer to like parts.

My invention relates to a refrigeratingtower to be used in connectionwith steamengine condensers where-the available supply of water isinsufcient' or expensive. It enables the same water toV be usedrepeatedly. The water from the condenser is conveyed by a suitablevacuum-pump or otherwise to the cooling device, wherein it is quicklycooled and is returned to the condenser. With this device an engine maybe operated condensing with an excellent vacuum, no matter where it islocated. In cities where ground is valuable it may be located on theroof of the building. The cooling-tower may also be used for reducingthe temperature of water for any other purpose.

The full nat-ure of myinvention will be fully understood from theaccompanying drawings and the description and claims following.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device with aportion of the cooling-tower and cistern removed to show the in? terior.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top. Fig.

3 shows a side elevation of a portion of some of the cooling-tubes withthe support and drops of water falling over them, and also an endelevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a crosslection of the attachment of thesupportingars.

In detail, 1 is a condenser for a steam-engine, and 2 is an exhaust-pipefrom the steamengine.

3 is a vacuum-pump, an end elevation only being shown. The form andconstruction of the condenser and vacuum-pump are immaterial to thisinvention. A discharge-pipe 4 leads from the pump to convey thecondenserwater, which is warm, to the upper end of the cooling-tower.

5 is an injection-pipe that conveys the water after it is cooled back tothe condenser.

The cooling device comprises a cistern G, upon' which the cooling-tower7 is located. The cistern is made, preferably, of bricks and thecooling-tower of iron. 'The cooling-tower shown is rectangularin formand open at both the upper and lower ends. In the upper end thedischarge-pipe 4 empties its contents into a perforated pipe S. I showthis extending centrally across the upper eu-d of the tower, as seen inFig. 2. Across the upper end of the towerat each end'I place a bar 9,from which I suspend a series of supporting-bars l0, that hang downalmost to the bottom of the tower. Near the upper endof saidsupporting-bars I secure a series of perforated troughs 11, that extendacross the upper end of the tower, as seen in Fig. 2. The water passingthrough the perforations in the pipe falls into these troughs andHows-toward the ends thereof, at the same time dropping through the'perforations in said troughs.

To the supporting-bars I bolt a series of hangers or brackets 12, beingsemicrcular in form, as seen in Fig. 3. I secure a pair of thesebrackets by one rivet, one being on each side. Thus there is a series ofbrackets, one beneath the other, extending from the top to near thebottom ofthe tower. On these brack ets I place light metal tubes 13,that extend horizontally from one end to the other of the tower underthe troughs 11. Each series of tubes is beneath one of said troughs.They may be made of light sheet metal of any kind, so that the twoseries of pipes supported by one of the supporting-bars 10 will, infact, be very light.

Near the lower end of the tower I place a blast-fan 14, driven by anysuitable power, whereby a current of air is forced upward through thetower, passing out at the top.

The warm water drops through the perforations in the series oftroughs'll upon the tubes 13. These tubes are preferably about threeinches in diameter, and the drops fall one after the other in a seriesand roll or slide around one tube and fall upon the next one, and so onto the end. In View of the long period of time required for the drops topass around the side of one tube and then of the whole series of tubesbelow it is seen that it will require considerable time for the IOOWater to pass from the top to the bottom of the series of tubes. Duringthis time the blast of cool airis passing up between the tubes and incontact with the drops of Water, so that thetubes are kept cool and thedrops are for a long period of time kept in contact with the blast ofair. By reason of this the Water by the time it reaches the lower end'of the series of tubes Will have become cooled. The Water drops from thelower end of the series of tubes into the cistern 6, and from thence isconveyed by the injection-pipe 5 back to the condenser. An overflow-pipe15 is pro.- vided in the cistern to convey the Water away if the cisternshould become too full.

From the foregoing description it is obvious that I have a very cheap,economical, and simple construction or arrangement of cooling-tower. Thetubes 13 are made of any light metal and rest upon the brackets 12, sothat they can be readily removed or any change made in the arrangementquickly.

In order to maintain the troughs 11 and tubes 13 in a Alevel position,the supportingbars 10 are threaded at their upper ends, as seen in Fig.4, and held by nuts 16, whereby the bars are vertically adjusted, so asto make the troughs and tubes level.

What I claim as my invention, and desire Y to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. A cooling device for steam-engine condensers including a casing, aVertical series of independent horizontal tubes loosely mounted Withinthe casing short of the sides thereof, and means for discharging theliquid to be cooled over said tubes.

2. A cooling device for steam-engine condensers including a casing, apair of supporting-bars suspended therein, a series of open bracketssecured to said bars, independent tubes carried loosely by said bracketsso as to be horizontal and in vertical series short of the sides of thecasing, and means for discharging the liquid to be cooled over saidtubes.

3. A cooling device for steam-engine condensers including a casing, aninlet-pipe at the upper end having a series of perforations therein forthe escape of the liquid to be cooled, a series of transverse troughsunder said pipe to receive the liquid from the perforations, saidtroughs having a series of bottom perforations, open brackets suspendedwithin the casing and a vertical series of independent tubes mountedloosely in said brackets under and parallel with said troughs.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day ofSeptember, 1897.

JOHN C. DEAN.

Witnesses:

R. D. HAWKINs, V. H. LooKWooD.

